Guardian Angel
by bachiari
Summary: Isn't it strange to think that Klaus, mass killer and evil in every sense of the word, had somehow become her guardian angel? AU from 3x11 onward. Caroline starts a new life. KLAROLINE.


Disclaimer: I do not own TVD.  
Pairing: Klaroline.  
Rating: T  
Summary: Isn't it strange to think that Klaus, mass killer and evil in every sense of the word, had somehow become her guardian angel? AU from 3x11 onward. Caroline starts a new life. KLAROLINE.

A/N: these facts are probably all wrong because I haven't watched TVD in forever ( ever since the last season with Damon and Elena with the sire bond that was god-to-honest _painful_ to watch). I just skimmed through the TVD wiki on Caroline's page and had been reading Klaroline fics like crazy and rewatching the whole world scene with Klaus that I just honest-to-god couldn't take it anymore. Caroline is forever abused in this show and just Elena is the main character for some reason when I can't stand her at all, and just _really_ wanted to write a fanfic in which Caroline is FINALLY appreciated for who she is and given a happy ending…

so fair warning, my facts may be wrong, and Caroline may be a bit OCC (really, why hasn't she abandoned these people already I have no clue…) but it made me happy writing it and hopefully some reviewers will agree with me ^_^ (please don't flame me.) I mean Damon ABUSED her and her FRIENDS force her to stay friends with him? i don't even! and then when she becames a new vampire basically everyone turns on her and Damon tries to kill her and stefan and elena just kinda like sit there i just UGHHHHHHHHHH

* * *

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

* * *

Her head was a whirl, and the pain in her neck was slowly building up. She couldn't get over the fact that _Tyler_ bit her. She knew from the very beginning that she was being silly about the relationship. Taboo relationships were fine in fiction and all, but in the real world, the relationships were outlawed for a reason. Hybrids and vampires weren't supposed to be together. One slip of Tyler's fangs and that meant she was a dead vampire.

Like it wasn't enough that she was a vampire and stuck forever at seventeen. To never be able to grow up with the people she loved seemed like a torture worse than death. But now that she was dying, it seemed silly to her that just an hour ago she was lamenting over her immortality. What she wouldn't give to be able to see Bonnie, Matt, Elena, and Jeremy grow up to be old. She wanted to be able to help her friends to get to a long life, even if she would never be able to achieve that same goal.

But…

some traitorous part whispered to her…

Wouldn't it be easier if she was dead?

Ever since she became a vampire, it was as if her world had been turned upside down.

Actually even _before_ she had become a vampire, her life had already been overturned by the supernatural. Ever since Elena had gotten a new hot boyfriend named Stefan, it was as if her normal, happy life as a cheerleader had broken.

But even before that, she wasn't happy. She still remembered that even in those innocent days, the relationships she regarded close to her were still full of strife. She had just wanted to be noticed. She was head cheerleader, head of the event committee, and was just always trying _so_ hard to be popular and well-liked, and yet everyone just seemed to pass her over for Elena.

Not like much has changed though. She was still being passed over for Elena in every aspect. It seemed selfish of her to think so, but even now they were fighting against time to keep Elena alive. And _so_ many people died for her. Jenna, _her_, when everything could have been solved if Elena just became a vampire.

Caroline didn't get why she was so opposed to it. Stefan was a vampire; did Elena want to grow old and die while her boyfriend stayed young and healthy?

She winced as the pain seemed to vibrate across her whole body, and she gingerly raised a hand to lay her palm against the gruesome wound. Tears ran down her face as she thought back to the event that led to it. Tyler had told her he had loved her.

But yet, what was love? It had only brought her pain, and even now, it was bringing her a slow death. And her friends? They never even tried to help her through the pain that sometimes crippled her. Damon _abused_ her. Every textbook example of abuse screamed Damon. He kept her compelled, and she wore _scarves_ to hide the evidence. And yet, when the truth came out, no one was there for her. And then she became a vampire, and _everyone_ shied away from her except for Stefan.

Even her mother…

They didn't already get along, but to see the hatred and the fear in her mother's eyes broke her. To hear that her mother wanted to disown her broke her heart even more. And then, to see those same emotions reflected in Matt's eyes...it was almost too much to bear.

But no one was there for her.

Bonnie hated the fact that she became a vampire and had killed her "potential" boyfriend to be. Her emotions already heightened, and no one understood what it was like to be a newbie vampire. Stefan was the Ripper, Damon killed people needlessly, and yet her, a newbie vampire, already confused as hell, killed one person because she didn't know how to deal with her emotions and suddenly she was a bad guy? And Damon, Mr. Abuser, tried countless times to kill her, and Elena and Stefan's defense was half-hearted at best, downright disinterested at worst.

_If only I truly died then…_

she wouldn't be feeling the pain she was feeling now.

She had never felt so alone in her life.

Weeping, she buried her head into her childhood pillow and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

A/N: Words italicized are words taken directly from TVD.

Caroline woke suddenly to a noise, and almost screamed when she saw Klaus standing above her. How did he get in? Was her mother still alive? What about her friends?

Shaking half because of fear and and the other half from pain, Caroline struggled to sit up.

"Don't hurt yourself on my account, love."

Caroline balefully stared back at him, a scowl on her lips. If she wasn't so weak she would tear into him, but unfortunately the bite made her lethargic. "You already _did_ hurt me," she weakly argued.

Klaus' eyebrows furrowed, and his easy smile from earlier dropped slightly in confusion. "Tyler bit you of his own accord, Caroline."

She didn't believe him, but there was a reason he was there. She looked down at the hands that were at his side, the hands that have killed countless others. Steeling her resolve, she weakly asked, "_Are you here to kill me?"_

Klaus looked stumped at the question. "'_On your birthday? You really think that low of me?"_ Caroline could hardly believe it, but she thought she saw a glimpse of hurt flash over his face.

"_Yes,_" she murmured. Even though she knew she should answer no and _not_ antagonize the man that held power over whether she would live or die, she couldn't help telling the truth. It wasn't in her nature to lie, and when she was on the brink of death, to lie seemed paramount to blasphemy.

Klaus looked disappointed at her answer, but chose to ignore her words, instead leaning over and running calloused fingers against her bracelet. "_I love birthdays_," he said, almost like an afterthought.

Caroline scoffed, even on her deathbed, she couldn't help being so snarky to Klaus. "_Yeah, aren't you like a billion or something?"_

This time she got a reaction out of Klaus, though it isn't one she was particularly expecting. He chuckled at her snark, and then fixed serious blue-grey eyes on Caroline's, though his tone stays amused. _"You have to adjust your perception of time when you become a vampire, Caroline. Celebrate the fact that you're no longer bound by trivial human connections. You're free."_

Her heart fluttered at his words, thinking back on her view on immortality that she had just reverted a few hours earlier. Then pain vibrated from her neck and her mood plummeted. _"No," _she responded slowly and her eyes fluttered as she tried to keep the tears back, "_I'm dying."_

Klaus' expression was unreadable and he moved to sit on the bed. Almost absentmindedly, he reached out a hand to lay on her bracelet, and after a while he spoke._ "And I could let you. Die. If that's what you want. If you really believe that your existence has no meaning. I thought about it myself. Once or twice over the centurs. Truth be told. But I'll let you in on a little secret. There's a whole world out there waiting for you. Great cities and art and music. Genuine beauty. And you can have all of it, you can have a thousand more birthdays. All you have to do is ask."_

Caroline felt every word he spoke in her bones, and she couldn't help but be moved by his words. Here Klaus was, being open with her, the least she could do was be open with him. This time, she couldn't stop the tears from running down her face. _"_I don't want to live as I am any longer. _But...I don't want to die either."_

Klaus seemed shocked at her words, but when she finished, a slow smile bloomed across his face. He slowly slid his sleeve up and gently, he cradled Caroline into his arms, tilting her head so her fangs were at his wrist. _"There you go, sweetheart. Have at it." _

She felt as if everything had changed in that single moment and one thought kept on going through her mind. How could she ever repay him? But the temptation of blood was too strong, and she bit into the warm flesh in front of her. Above her, she could hear Klaus' sigh of satisfaction and a few moments later, he spoke.

"_Happy birthday, Caroline."_

She was drifting in and out. Her neck was being cleaned, and the blood washed away. And although she could barely keep her eyes open, some part of her knew that Klaus was still there. She struggled to stay awake, but the blood was working its magic and moments later she was knocked out.

* * *

When she awoke again, moonlight was still shining into the house through the open windows. Her head clearer, and her struggle to keep her eyes open gone, Caroline tentatively turned her head this way and that, marveling at the painless motion. And startled when she saw Klaus still standing in the corner. She hadn't seen him before because the shadows masked his presence.

"Klaus?" she whispered hesitantly, and was rewarded when blue-grey eyes snapped to hers.

"Caroline," and there was no mistaking the predatory smile that made its way across the man's face. "There is a matter of repayment that must be discussed."

Caroline scoffed, and although weak, found the energy to pout petulantly at the Original. "I thought you were saving me out of your own good will."

Klaus actually tilted his head backward and laughed whole-heartedly, clearly enjoying Caroline's antics. "Love, I don't do anything without some form of repayment. I'm not a good person, surely you already knew that?"

Caroline crossed her arms and refused to answer, glaring at the thousand-year-old hybrid.

Klaus shrugged at her angry look, before his expression softened. "Caroline, the only repayment I want is answers."

She blinked in surprise, her glare broken. "Answers about what?" And then the thought hit her and she immediately scowled. "No! No way are you getting information from me about my friends for saving me."

"Who said anything about your friends? Why would I care about them, love?"

"Uh, because Elena is your doppelganger, Tyler your hybrid, and the Savlatore brothers have been bothering you since like forever? And Bonnie is a witch. With all those special people, why would you even care about me? I'm just a lowly vampire, newly turned at that."

Klaus tsked, "I never would you imagined you to have such a low self-esteem, Caroline. I'll repeat my question, love. Do you really believe your existence to have no meaning?"

"I was delirious and in pain!" protested Caroline, a flush making her way across her cheeks. "You can't hold me accountable for things I said when I was dying!"

Klaus shook his head, his eyes never leaving hers. "Caroline, it is when we are dying that we are most truthful. You forget, love, that I have also battled with depression, and I'm sorry to say, but last night you almost _wanted_ to be denied my blood. You wanted to die."

"No!" she protested, "No, I didn't!" But his words hit home, and with each repeat of the word 'no', her voice became softer and softer, and in a manner of seconds, fat tears were rolling down her cheeks. "No, I want to live, I'm not depressed, I'm just ...it's just so _hard_."

Klaus was next to her in a flash, and she didn't even have the energy to shrug off his one-armed embrace. He didn't even have to prompt her, for suddenly, every misgiving she had been thinking about was already spilling out of her mouth. How she felt disconnected from everybody. How sometimes she thought it would be easier if she was dead. How deep down inside, she entertained the thought that _no_ one would miss her if she was dead.

It was weird how easy it was to be honest with Klaus. Maybe because she didn't have any good intentions toward Klaus and she didn't have to impress him, it was easier to be truthful. She was constantly surrounded by people that she wanted to _love_ her, to think highly of her, to be her _friend_. That Klaus was almost like a fresh breath of air. She didn't need anything from him, and she sure as hell wasn't sweet on him. But he stayed anyway. And he wanted her attention. No one had ever treated her like this. And she can't remember the last time, _anyone_ was there for her as she cried and screamed out her worries.

An hour later, Caroline's body-wracking sobs had toned down into small sniffles, and Klaus hadn't complained once about his new soaking jacket. In fact, he hadn't spoken a word at all since she had started. Confused, but not willing to break the comfortable silence that stretched between them, she resolved not to say anything until he did. Though she didn't have to wait long.

"You don't have to be alive, Caroline."

Caroline blinked, and then after a moment, gave a short, shaky laugh. "Are you making a joke about how I'm dead because I'm a vampire, Klaus?" she couldn't help teasing the Original and adding a flirty lilt to the end, though she reprimanded herself afterward almost immediately for _flirting._ What would her friends say if they knew?

"I can make it so your friends think you're dead, love. You don't have to go back to them, and you can have a new life. But this time, with me. And I swear, I will treat you right. I will show you the world, Caroline."

She could feel her heart mending at his words, but even before he finished speaking she was already shaking her head. "No, no, I can't abandon my friends like that. They need me."

"Friends? They didn't even visit you when you were on your deathbed, love."

"They - they must have more important things to do. Things like stopping you and your evilness," she weakly protested, but some part of her knew that Klaus was right.

"Caroline, there is nothing more important than you."

She couldn't bear to keep eye-contact with his blue-grey eyes after he spoke, and broke it immediately, her blush returning full force. "I -"

"It doesn't matter. I'm here to be, what do they call it these days? Your savior? Your hero? Your guardian angel? But unlike most heroes, I'm fundamentally a villain, so I won't be taking no for an answer. I think it's time for you to take a little nap, love."

Caroline stiffened, cursing herself for being so trusting around someone who _wasn't_ a good man. "No, Klaus, _please!"_

But he was already tilting her head upward, and his voice had dropped into the vestiages of a compulsion. "Sweetheart, you will no longer be Caroline Forbes. You died today, but you were also reborn. I will make it so you believe that your existence means something. So you know just how important you are. I promise that to you, Caroline. Sleep tight, love."

And with that, Caroline fell fast asleep.

* * *

It was hard to be angry at Klaus. He compelled her to throw away her old life and had worked some ancient magic to ensure that she could tell no one her real name, but…

Some part of her was happy. To know that someone out there cared enough to go to such lengths…

And while Klaus had made her unable to be Caroline Forbes anymore to her friends, he didn't exactly forbid her from making contact. She could still help them, and now that Klaus was keeping her like a princess locked away in a tower, she now had insider information. Though deep down inside she wasn't sure if she would be able to betray Klaus. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to.

After all, here she lay dying, and who came to visit her? Matt had dropped her off of course, but even he didn't want to stay and watch her die. Wasn't it ironic that just earlier that day she was celebrating her "funeral" with her friends? It was almost justice that she "died" to her friends that day, only to make their words a poetic right. But Elena? Bonnie? Stefan? And god forbid, Damon?

And Tyler. He knew she was dying because of him, but…

No one wanted to wait out those last minutes with her.

If they had, maybe they would have known that she was contemplating death. To know that Klaus, their greatest enemy and mass killer, was the _only_ one who cared enough to _convince_ her to stay alive?

Wasn't that humbling?

It sure put her perspective of the relationships she held close to her heart.

Because if Elena or Bonnie or Stefan or _anyone_ she knew was dying like she had been last night, she wouldn't have left their bedside for any reason. She would sure as hell stayed there with them and held their hand to the very end.

And Caroline wasn't a girl that didn't pay back her favors.

Klaus had saved her last night, in more ways than one. Not only did he give her the blood she needed to heal, but he stayed there and was willing to stay till the very end if she chose to end her life. And he actually opened up to her. He _connected _with her, telling her that he understood why she was leaning more toward the dark side, and that he too, had felt the pull of Death more often than once. And he did something that she never believed that he was capable of. His face had softened, and his words painted a picture that her dying self couldn't help but to cherish.

He didn't believe she was worthless. He didn't believe that she should die, and he sought her out when he found out she was dying. He had held the key to her survival and he didn't withhold it; he _convinced_ her to take it so she could be saved. Everything she had witnessed last night seemed totally opposite to what Klaus was, but yet, he sat there, and had looked her in the eyes, kept his voice soft, and promised her wonders that no one else had ever done in her life.

She had been teetering on the boundary between life and death, and he had become her guardian angel.

She was _dead_ just as she had wanted earlier that night. But yet, she was alive. Even if it was only to see the wonders that Klaus had promised her.

She had always dreamed of being special. Countless dreams of someone from outside- someone not affiliated with Mystic Falls, visiting and scouting her out and taking her on a worldwide journey. To leave behind this small town, now ravaged by supernaturals, and to make a name for herself.

And now she had that.

And she wasn't going to let her chance go to waste.

* * *

_Two weeks later..._

"You're going to have to switch rings, love."

Caroline turned to face Klaus; she had been holding a dress up to her body in front of the mirror when Klaus had spoken. Her eyes flitted downward to the rings that littered her pale fingers; none of them seemed particularly gaudy. She raised her eyes to meet Klaus in a silent question, causing a smile to form on the man's face.

"Your daylight ring, Caroline."

Caroline scowled at his words, "Couldn't you have been more specific a bit earlier? Besides you already took the ring that Bonnie gave me."

Klaus' eyebrows shot up, causing Caroline's trepidation to rise. "What? Surprised that a witch so young and inexperienced could make a ring like that?"

She knew she was being snappy and irritable, but being stuck inside for two weeks with only Klaus for company and having to avoid every beam of sunlight...to put it lightly, she was on her last nerves and Klaus treating her like a Barbie was going to make her snap. She wasn't ungrateful to the Original, but she didn't want to spend the rest of her days catering to Klaus' every will. She wasn't a pet toy, and if Klaus really respected her, he would understand that he had to let her go out sometimes!

"No, love." Caroline was surprised when she saw Klaus falter; she had never seen the man ever unsure of his words, and this only made her worry shoot upwards. What was wrong with her ring? "Bonnie made this for you?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I just said," grouched Caroline.

""I was under the impression that Bonnie and you were...how did you put it again? Best of friends?"

Caroline couldn't shake the feeling that Klaus was looking down on her and gave him a fierce scowl to let him know that she didn't appreciate his snark. "We are."

At Klaus's raised eyebrow, she faltered on her strong conviction, "Well, I mean...we used to be. When I became a vampire, Bonnie...she didn't trust me. And I kinda maybe killed a guy she was interested in." When a smirk started to form, Caroline hurried to explain herself. "Hey, I was a newbie vampire then, it's not my fault that he died!"

She wanted to continue protesting her case, but Klaus' chuckle, full of mirth, cut through the air, startling her into silence. She should be angry that Klaus found her as a source of entertainment, but the way his eyes crinkled and the sound of his laugh was much too distracting. She weakly continued, "We can't all be killers like you."

Klaus shrugged at her words and his smile never faded. "I never protested I was a killer, love. Unlike you, I feel no guilt over the people I kill., I never kill without a reason and the people I kill more than deserve it." He paused, and suddenly eyes of steel locked onto hers. "Remember that, sweetheart. If you dare to cross me, I will not hesitate to punish you."

Caroline shivered at the words, and broke eye contact, her blue eyes coming to rest on her shaking hands. Klaus treated her like she was special, and he spoke words that made her heart beat faster and her head spin around in confused circles. But...she couldn't forget that Klaus wasn't a teenage boy. He was a hardened killer and she couldn't forget that. But...it wasn't as if she was a confused teenage girl anymore. She wasn't the unconfident, innocent young girl either and it was unfair to her and to Klaus to pretend to be so. She didn't deserve someone like Matt, who was normal in every sense of the word. She was a killer, just like Klaus.

Blinking back confused tears and shoving her whirling emotions down, she shakingly scoffed and crossed her arms. "Right, got it all down, Mr. Scary Klaus. If I cross you, I die. Don't have to keep on telling me. Anyway, you were saying something about Bonnie?"

There was a pause after her words, and she refused to turn to look in Klaus' eyes, knowing that he'll see her fear as clear as day in her expressive blue eyes.

"While I do not doubt young Bonnie's powers, there was something off about your ring."

"The ring worked!" protested Caroline, and here she brought up furious eyes to glare balefully at the much older vampire.

Klaus barely reacted to her glare, simply aiming a mocking smile her way. "Yes, it worked and served you well, love. But there was a secondary enchantment placed on your daylight ring."

"What?" Caroline weakly questioned, her heart beating fast as she thought back to that day. She had been so confused and Bonnie had been so acerbic. And when she had hesitantly expressed concern over the fact that there was no chanting, they had drawn back the curtains without any warning, almost cruelly teaching her that the ring worked. To shove her fear of the sunlight in her face...she had almost missed Bonnie's mocking remark that the ring had worked. When Stefan and Bonnie had left, she had lain in her bed for hours, trying to get her heightened emotions under control, and to weep over the hatred and fear she had seen expressed in her former best friend's eyes.

"The second enchantment would force the first one to stop working if you ever dared to attack one of your so called friends."

"Stop working?"

"Yes, it's quite cruel, too. It would have stopped working even if you were in sunlight without a single spot of shade around. Quite a painful and gruesome death if I do say so myself. Now why would your best friend want you dead?"

"I - I" faltered Caroline, and she couldn't stop a lone tear from escaping her now clenched blue eyes. How could her friends do this to her? Stefan must have approved it, because he was there with Bonnie when she was given the ring. Did they all know? Did they all really believe that she was capable of betraying them? Wasn't she supposed to be one of them?

Her shock startled her beautiful blue eyes open, and she met Klaus's serious blue-grey ones. Klaus was closer than he was a moment ago, and he had raised a finger to wipe away her tear. "Don't cry, love. You're safe now. Didn't I tell you two weeks ago? There's a whole _world _out there waiting for you. Don't waste time worrying about the past, because they don't matter anymore. All that matters now is you and me."

And at his words, with strong conviction behind every syllable, Caroline couldn't stop the tears from making their way down her pale cheeks. Klaus was there in a second, his strong arms wrapping around her and making her feel safe.

And...deep down inside,

she found herself believing him.

* * *

A/N: I'm not in love with Klaus, I swear! And I didn't make my boyfriend call me love and sweetheart...nope, nope I didn't.

Please review! I'll update in a few days after my finals (wrote this in like 2 hours because KLAUS WHY ARE YOU SO PERFECT Q_Q) Okay, okay, back to studying...


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